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Generalship: All That Really Matters

Generals have made and changed the history of many nations. Armed Forces are the instrument of power of any nation and Generals have important role to play in the nation building and national security. Lately, the standard of Generalship has come to be criticised and the environment alleges that mediocre Generals are being thrown up, and in the process competency and professionalism is getting sacrificed. Not only the Indian Armed Forces, but most of the world armies are facing this problem and mediocrity attributes to poor Generalship. 

The book covers the aspects of what really matters in professional Generalship, what are the expectations from the Generals, what abilities the Generals must have which matters in professional command and what are the attitude and personality factors which Generals must up hold to make themselves credible and effective.
The chapters have covered those essential perquisites which make a difference in command of a military formation and differentiate between mediocre/poor and good Generalship. Not only in military affairs but dealing with the outside world is an important part of Generalship attributes and here what matters is prudence in the outlook and professionalism. The issues discussed in the book also have relevance in the corporate and industrial sectors. 
Written in a simple and lucid manner, use of quotations and references have been made to highlight the importance of issues being discussed thus making the narrative interesting.

Vij Books
  • Pages: 312
  • 9789386457653 • HARDBACK • Feb 2018 • Rs.850
  • 9789386457660 • EBOOK • Mar 2018 • Rs.495
  • Subjects:
  • Generalship: All That Really Matters
author details
Brigadier Ashok Kumar Ganguly was commissioned in Indian Army (Infantry) and retired after putting in 34 years of military service. He has three decades of experience on command and staff appointments with varied exposure to military operations in North East India, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and High Altitude Sectors of Northern and Eastern Command of Indian Army. He is the recipient of Sena Medal (SM), Vishist Seva Medal (VSM) and Commendations for distinguished service in operations and staff duties.
After retirement from Military Service in 2012, he joined the Indian Corporate Sector and has been part of the senior management group. Presently, he is in the power sector looking into the affairs of Corporate Support Services.
He is Masters in Defence Studies from Madras University, Post Graduate of Defence Services Staff College, MBA and Masters Diploma in HR&IR. He is a prolific writer and has been contributing articles in various magazines; he has authored the book ‘Leaders from the Barracks’ on leadership ability and personality development, published in 2016. The present book is his second publication.
The author’s email is [email protected]


Preface
Introduction

Chapter – 1 Qualifications
Ability
Ability to Workout with the Staff 
Ability to Measure the Command 
Ability to Make the ‘Decisions’ Matter 
Ability to ‘Out Flank’ Pressures
Ability to ‘War Game’
Ability to Raise the ‘Clarion’ 
Ability to Communicate
Analyst’s
Mind Game in Analysis
Personality and Attitude in Analysis
Knowledge and Experience

Chapter – 2 Leadership 
As Commanders
Outlook and Temperament
Cognitive Ability 
Dexterity
As Managers
Concern
Health of the Formation
Human Resource - Narrative
Potential Mapping
Optimisation of Resource Utilisation
Logistical Philosophy

Chapter – 3 Individuality
Personality Quotients
Personality Types
Attitude
Singularity
Vision
Acumen
Habits

Chapter – 4 Generals and Estates of the Realm
Media
Bureaucracy 257
Policy Makers/Politics

Chapter – 5 Generals Prospective Prognostication
Epilogue 
Index